When the NHL announced they were selling jersey ads for next season, fans were divided. Some of you hated the idea. Some of you really hated the idea. Considering the NHL lost approximately $3.5 billion last year without fans in the stands it’s not hard to see why Gary Bettman’s bean counters are excited for the idea.
The Washington Capitals were the first to announce who would get the prime real estate on player jerseys when a deal was announced with Caesars’ sportsbook. Who might pay a pretty penny to see themselves on a New Jersey Devils’ jersey? We joked about a fictional pork store from “the Sopranos” being a sponsor. Some of you suggested a certain fictional “gentlemen’s club” from the show should buy the ad, but this is a family friendly team so that’s not happening. Here’s who might find themselves on a New Jersey Devils jersey come next season.
RWJ Baranabas
RWJ Barnabas is a long time, and heavily involved, sponsor of the New Jersey Devils. When ads were allowed to be sold on practice jerseys, it was RWJ Barnabas that jumped at the chance. Not only that, but they also bought naming rights to the team’s practice arena right next door. It’s a logical choice. Then again, it comes at an increased price. A general guestimate from the Washington Post puts the cost at $10,000,000.
Prudential
They have the naming rights to the arena. Starting last season they also saw themselves put an ad on the team’s helmets. Just like how RWJ Baranabas is, Prudential is a huge and existing sponsor. They are also a nationally known brand who could benefit from the exposure on a major league team’s jersey. If the cost really is in the $10,000,000 range that’s nothing but pocket change to Newark’s favorite corporate entity.
Caesars’
This one is sort of a long shot considering they already bought jersey rights to another team. Sports betting isn’t big in New Jersey, it’s downright huge. Caesars’ has already invested heavily in the New Jersey sports betting industry. They even bought the naming rights for lounges at Prudential Center. Not only that, but they recently acquired William Hill who ran their own operation out of Prudential Center. Caesars’ main competitor is MGM, who’s already a major sponsor of the Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL, and owns T-Mobile Arena so they’re basically the Vegas Golden Knights landlord. If a gambling company was going to buy a jersey ad for the Devils, it would most likely be Caesars.
Draft Kings, or Fan Duel, or Barstool Sportsbook
All three are competing companies with a digital sportsbook presence in New Jersey. Unlike Caesars’ and MGM, they lack a giant parent company and actual casinos and hotels owned by them (some casinos have sportsbooks run by these companies, but you get my point). All three apps are easily available, and definitely well used. Did we mention New Jersey is the nation’s number one market for sports gambling? Yes, we in the Garden State even beat Las Vegas.
Each of the three have their own specific reason why a partnership with the Devils might be beneficial. FanDuel is the number one sports betting app by revenue in the state, in addition to having a physical location at the Meadowlands. DraftKings is second, but it’s not close, although DraftKings does have a considerable national profile. Barstool just became available in the state so buying a jersey ad would make a nice splash.
BudLight
The “official” beer of the NHL is Coors Light. Anyone who’s ever driven to a Devils’ game knows that Prudential Center is BudLight territory. You literally pass one of the company’s large breweries on the way into town. While it would be a nice local connection, BudLight as a brand is also heavily connected with the St. Louis Blues. The Blues and BudLight’s parent company share a home town of St. Louis. St. Louis is even more of a BudLight town than Newark.
Johnson and Johnson
Johnson and Johnson is New Jersey’s largest corporation, according to the Fortune 500. Not only that but it’s also a well-known household name. Their baby shampoo may promise no tears, but we can’t say the same when the Devils blow yet another three goal lead. Then again considering the family behind Johnson and Johnson also controls the New York Jets, and we see how that’s worked out, we might want to stay as far away from them as possible.
United Airlines
They are the largest tenant at Newark Airport. They have an incredibly large area presence. Then again, they are a Chicago based company and have the naming rights to the Chicago Blackhawks stadium so it might be weird. It would be a blast from the past though. Even though the airlines merged and took the name of United, they still kept the old Continental Airlines logo. Imagine seeing the logo that was on the arena we had all that success at on the jerseys of our new home? Don’t tell me that wouldn’t be nice.